With filming to begin in little more than a week, the fact that actors have already been cast in a number of roles should not be a surprise. The fact that names are starting to spill, one after the other, is probably not too surprising. We’ve been sent quite a few details about a number of additional actors who’ve landed roles, some of whom will probably be familiar to anyone who watches film or television with any regularity…

Clive Russell: A veteran television and film actor, he has been cast as… Ser Brynden Tully, also known as the Blackfish! This would be Catelyn’s uncle and Robb’s great-uncle, per the novels, a noted soldier. He’s a role that some fans have dearly wanted to see on the screen, only for him to be pushed back from the first to second season, and then not even then. Still, better late than never. Among notable roles for the actor has been appearances in both of the new Sherlock Holmes films as Captain Tanner, MacQueen in The Wolfman, and television appearances in various productions including Merlin and The Mists of Avalon. Here’s a bit of a show reel for the actor:

Nathalie Emmanuel: A young actress who’s had a memorable turn on BAFTA-winning superhero drama Misfits, the actress revealed in since-deleted images and tweets that she had a hold of a script for season 3 (I believe for episode 6), and that she was going to have her first riding lesson. She hasn’t outright said who she’s playing… but by her appearance, I’m thinking they may be reintroducing Jhiqui—the other handmaiden who appeared as an extra in the first season and then disappeared—or perhaps as an aged-up Missandei. In the novel, Missandei is a young girl—about eight years old—who’s a slave from Naath employed as a translator and scribe for the slavers of Astapor, and there’s really no reason she couldn’t be older if they’re going to have her on the show. We’ll see what we’ll see… Below is a clip from the popular soap Hollyoaks:

Mackenzie Crook: The most tenuous possible casting, based solely on an unverified report that the actor was seen hanging out with John Bradley West (Samwell), Josef Alton (Pypar), Ben Crompton (Dolorous Edd), and Finn Jones (Loras Tyrell) in a Belfast pub. Maybe he’s just pals with one of them or was in town for some other project (contrary to popular belief, there are other film and television programs being made in NI), but… we wouldn’t bet on it. Funnily enough, I had just seen the actor in Ironclad, an action film (very) loosely based on an incident in the reign of King John of England, but for most he’s probably best known for his role as Gareth in the original UK version of The Office, as well as his appearances in The Pirates of the Caribbean. Who is he in Game of Thrones, if he has been cast? My money is on Tom of Sevenstreams, also known as Tom o’ Sevens, or possibly—just possibly—as Lord Beric Dondarrion. We don’t know if Tom (a singer with a way with women, at least seven sons, and a penchant for hanging around with troublemakers) is even a role this season, but we do know that Beric Dondarrion was definitely being cast for this year. He’s a rather atypical pick for the Lightning Lord, all considered, but then again, he did do a serious medieval action turn in Ironclad, so…
Below’s a clip from an interview on the Jonathan Ross program, followed by a clip from The Office:

Bear in mind that none of these actors are officially confirmed by HBO, but Emmanuel and Russell appear to be solid, and Crook doesn’t seem far off.